Ep. 5: In The Workplace

Mental illness is the leading cause of disability in the US, resulting in absenteeism, diminished productivity and increased turnover. Which legislative and employer-based policies are supporting workers, to strengthen businesses and the economy?

Ep. 5: In The Workplace

Mental illness is the leading cause of disability in the US, resulting in absenteeism, diminished productivity and increased turnover. Which legislative and employer-based policies are supporting workers, to strengthen businesses and the economy?

Ep. 6: Access To Care

Travel across the state to meet dozens of urban and rural Texans, finding or providing care in innovative programs. Discover why these efforts are needed and what makes them work; then join some of Texas’ top mental health experts to discuss the benefits and challenges of adopting them more widely, and the policy needed to make that happen.

Mental illness is the leading cause of disability in the US, resulting in absenteeism, diminished productivity and increased turnover. Which legislative and employer-based policies are supporting workers, to strengthen businesses and the economy?

Additional Reporting

According to a Texas Tribune analysis of death records between 2004 and 2013, the rate of suicide was 15 percent higher in Texas counties with an urban population of less than 20,000 people than in more metropolitan counties. Public health experts are looking more closely at the issue.

Criminal justice experts say that determining mental health can be hard for anyone. They say the issues revealed in three cases are key in furthering the discussion in how mental health is gauged when weighing the death penalty for killers.

Texas lawmakers tout recent improvements to the state’s mental health safety net, citing new funding and the expansion of certain programs. But the state still struggles to provide psychiatric care for all patients who need it.

A review of Texas’ foster care system found that an unexpectedly low number of children had accessed mental health care services. State officials hope a new network of clinics will better connect kids with trauma-informed behavioral health care.

For those with the most acute or profoundly disabling mental illnesses, the inability to access ongoing care has a devastating impact on their lives, their families, and their communities, writes Stephen M. Glazier, chief operating officer of the University of Texas Harris County Psychiatric Center.

More female veterans call Texas home than any other state in the country, according to 2015 figures. One nonprofit group in Houston ensures that female veterans get a safe space to receive counseling and learn from one another's experiences.